New York is back — but it's terrible news for renters getting hit with $1,100-a-month increases, like this single mom of 2

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When Kathrin DiPaola returned to New York in February of 2021, it was still the city she loved, but a lot had changed.

Kathrin DiPaola.

I always wanted to come back to New York as I felt like it was my home, the German-born single mother of two told Insider.

DiPaola knew she would be in for a challenge when she tried to find a home in New York. The real estate market, renowned for its exclusive listings and pricey rates, was especially hard hit as renters fled the city during the Pandemic. Rental prices were at decade lows in neighborhoods throughout the state.

DiPaola took advantage of the market. She found a good deal on a new place in a neighborhood that offered good schools for her children. She signed a lease for a three-bedroom apartment.

The rents on the Upper East Side were lower than anywhere else on the city side, and DiPaola knew it was a special deal.

DiPaola received her answer this winter. Her rent, which she initially called an "amazing steal", is set to increase by over 50% to $3,300 per month starting in April. Rents that were a great deal a year ago are back to pre-pandemic levels, and in some cases surpass pre-pandemic levels.

We are in a different time now, things have changed in the last two years, but can we go back to where we were before?

As pandemic deals expire, rents are rising by hundreds of dollars per month

When New York's real estate market took a hit, DiPaola's apartment was listed at $4,000 per month.

Regardless of whether or not renters in the area are earning more money, rent in DiPaola's neighborhood has begun to pick up steam.

DiPaola said that when her rent went up, she called her landlord, who told her that the kitchen was not renovated and the heat hadn't been working properly since October. He went down by $100 a month and said he couldn't do more.

New Yorkers who left the city during the early stages of the Pandemic return have seen rents climb on the Upper East Side. The average rent for a 1-bedroom apartment in the Upper East Side is $3,600 per month, a 40% increase compared to 2021.

Nancy Wu, economist at property database StreetEasy, said in a statement that the market is in the process of normalized after nearly two years of uncertainty. The market is doing more than normalizing, as some Manhattan rents are already $300 higher than their pre-pandemic high.

It is good news for the city's recovery overall, but, understandably, many renters or hopeful renters might be feeling uneasy right now.

The concessions landlords gave at the beginning of the year are set to expire in the first quarter of 2022, leaving many renters with no choice but to move out of their discounted rentals.

She told me her increase was $1500 a month, before I knew what was going to happen to me.

DiPaola is worried about what will happen to her family. She would have had to leave if she hadn't gotten a better-paying job in December. If her rent goes up next April, she wonders where she will go next.

She said that she would like to stay but that she would start looking next year because her sister is going to college. If my rent goes up to $4,000, I might as well look for a two-bedroom building with a doorman and dishwasher.

James Rodriguez is a reporter.